Plow frame



W. A. BRADLEY PLow FRAM@ Filed Feb. 9, 1922 [Immun Patented June 16, 1925.

UNITED STATES i* y1,542,364 PATENT OFFICE.

wrLLrAivr ALBERT BnAnLEY, or MoLr'Nn, ILLINOIS, AssreNon, BY essreN MENTS, To MOLINE IMELEMENT COMPANY, A CORPORATION or ILLINOIS.

PLOW FRAME.

vApplication led February 9, 1922. Serial No. 535,149.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM. ALBERT BRADLEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Moline, county of Rock Island, State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvement'sin Plow Frames, of whiclnthe following is a specification.

The invention relates to a plow frame.

It is employed inconnection with tractor plows of the frameless type. c

In plows of this type, the plow beams arecOnnected together by braces Vwhich unite the beams into a framework that may be called the frame of the plow, although the plow is often referred to as a frameless plow owing to the fact that.there is no frame other than the framework formed by the beams themselves. The goal toward which all manufacturers are striving is to i9 devise a` structure that issimple, light and inexpensive, yet rigid, strong andv durable so that it will withstand the stresses and strains to which it is subjected. l

The general Object of the present invention is to provide an improved plow frame kof the character described.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the specifications and drawings.

An embodiment of the invention is shown j in the accompanying drawings in which, Figure l is a side elevation of the plow frame. f Y,

' Figure 2 is a plan view.

The frame comprises two plow beams l and 2 connected by a frontbrace 3 and a rearbrace 4.

rThe beamsare made of 'fiat Vmetal bars having; a rectangular cross sectionin contradistinction rto the heavy special agricultural 'f-beam sections that `have heretofore been used quite generally. The front ends ofthe beams are bent downward slightly and theV rear ends are also bent downwardly and provided with a plurality of holes -for the ieception of fastening devices for attaching plow bodies to the beams. One beam is shorter than the otherl .so that the plow bodies will be in staggered relation, al position that is necessary for plowing in order that one plow will not interfere with the other. l

Then a plow of ,this Vtype is drawn through the ground a ynumber of different stresses are set up in the beam structure or framework. The beams must be maintained in their parallel relation and, consequently, there must be some structure'for preventing them from moving to or away from one auother. There is also a torsional stress set up in the beam structure'and, consequentlv, 1t must be made to withstand twisting strains. The frame may also be subiected at different times to violent strains tending to collapse it by moving one beam longitudinally relative to the other. f For example, if one plow body were to strike a rock, root, stump, or the like, the force exerted by the tractor or` other power device 'would tend to pull the unobstructed beam forward relative to the obstructed one. If the framework is not built to withstand ythese strains, it will fail under the conditions of practical operation. A

Various constructions have Vbeen devised for withstanding these various stresses, but

most o f themv have been exceedingly heavy and somewhat complicated in construction. lf the framework is made heavy and the mere strength of parts is depended upon to withstand the stresses, the amount of steel in the structure is excessive, which, not only adds to the cost of the implement, but also increases its weight, thereby increasing the draft and making it more cumbersome and unwieldy. Structures have been devised which involve converging the forward ends of thebeams to a point and fastening them together, but` such structures are expensive and aord a narrow draft hitch which is not always desirable. The present invention is an improvement over anything heretofore produced and it is especially advantageous because a minimum of steel is used, the parts are of simpler construction, and yet the structure is very rigid and durable.

The beams are located parallel to one another and, consequently, need not be bent laterally to any special shape for fastening them together. f

` The front ends are braced'by the front brace 3 which is a U-shaped member with one arm of the U connected to one beam and the other arm of the U connected to the other beam. This brace keeps the front ends of the beams in proper spaced relation and prevents to some degree any longitudinal movement of the beams relative to one another.v

The front ends of the brace are bent downwardly and provided with holes 6 for the reception of fastening devices for attaching a draft hitch.

The rear brace is also a U-shaped member with the arms of the Ur diverging as illus trated in Figure 2. rlhe base 7 of the U is attached to one beam and the arms ofv the U are attached to the other beam. rlhis brace, not only keeps the rear vends and centers of the beams in proper spaced relation, 'but it also serves toeffectually prevent any longitudinal movement of one beam relative tothe other. It will be readily appreciated that if this latter brace had only one arm there would be very little resistance to longitudinal movement 4of one beam relativeto the other, but, with the two arms, aS braced structure is provided in which one arm is under tension and the other under compression whenever any force is` exerted tending to Inovethe beams'longitudinally relative to y"each other. Because of the character' ofthis brace, it need not be made unusually heavy. It can be made ofa single piece ofmetal bent to the shape shown. It

canbe readily attached 4to thebeams by means of rivets Aextending through holes punched in the beams.

` The structure thus provided has been found to be unusuallyrigid and durable for the'weight of the parts required. Ihe cost the Amaterial andthe cost of yproduction have been kept at a minimum. The result is that an implement frame has been produced at a minimum cost having all the desirable characteristics of devices of this kind.

It is to be understood that the structure shown is for purposes of illustration only and that variations may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

A plow frame having two parallel plow beamsmade of flat metal bars of rectangular cross sectionV with the bars positioned with their fiat faces in substantial vertical planes, one of said beams being longer than the other so that plow Vbodies attached to their rear ends will beI in staggered relation, a U- shaped brace connecting the forward ends of the beams, one of the arms of the U being connected to one beam and the other arm being connected to theother beam, both of said arms. extending forwardly and downwardly beyond the ends of the beams to form connections for receiving a draft hitch, and a U-shaped brace having` diverging arms connecting the rear ends of the beams, the 'base of the U. being connected to the short beam and the diverged arms being connected to the long beam.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

IVI'LLI'AM ALBERT BRADLEY. 

